EDC 102 F08 Fnl Prj Eval - Jessica L Research Question:How do extra curricular volunteer programs benefit a student's social and academic developments? Contributed by: Jessica Lopes
ERIC Article
Newmann, Fred, and Robert Rutter. The Effects of High School Community Service Programs on Students' Social Development. Final Report. ERIC, 1983. 18 Nov 2008 <http://eric.ed.gov>
This article, written by Robert Rutter and Fred Newmann, reports on a study on students from eight difference high schools that participated in volunteer programs. Students who were involved in this study were interviewed before and after the study, filled out questionnaires throughout the process. This study was looking for a positive correlation between school volunteer programs and positive social development. Specifically, the study was looking for a link between volunteering and a positive change in the students’ sense of responsibility and concern for others, the student’s participation in adult groups and politics and the students’ competence in group projects. The findings of this study were that there was an increase of the students’ sense of social responsibility and personal competence. However, this study fails to show special benefits in future changes such as political efficacy, future affiliation and future political participation.
While reading this study I was pleasantly surprised by the findings of many of the pre interviews. Most of the students expected to come away from the experience with better people skills. They hoped that they would be better equipped in the future to deal with social situations and being able to work with adults. I was also happy to read that the authors reported on some particular experiences that would be with them always. The experiences were not dramatic or traumatic, but the social impressions of working with and helping children and adults helped many students feel more confident about their career decisions.
Times Article
Appleton, Samantha. “Teens Team Up to Give Back.” Time 15 Mar 2007. 24 Nov 2008 <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1599703,00.html>.
This article was published last year in Time magazine. Appleton writes about City Year, a non-profit youth volunteer organization. Over 1000 teens in 16 cities get up early on Saturday mornings for a full day of volunteering in City Year’s Young Heroes program. Many of these groups focus on working with current social projects. For example, there were projects in the Bronx that spread awareness about AIDS, held educational workshops and teens made and delivered care packages to AIDS patients. Young Heroes helps students get involved early in volunteering, which research says makes the students more likely to volunteer in the future.
After reading this article I better understood the reasons why other kids get into volunteering early in life, then continue volunteering throughout their life. In this particular instance the volunteer groups were educating the teens on the risks of AIDS and the facts about the disease, so that they could pass the knowledge to their peers. Also, the students were involved in helping bedridden AIDS patients by making care packages and talking to the patients and keeping them company. This article also focuses on the importance of beginning volunteerism in schools at a younger age. A City Year alumni stated that middle school, right before high school, is the most important time to start getting kids to want to volunteer. It is at this time when the activity will make the most difference, and be most likely to be a positive growing experience that the student would want to return to.
The corporation for national and community service surveyed over 3000 young Americans for this report. This report mainly consists of statistics that show how many students are volunteering and different statistics involving youth engagement. I learned that it is much more likely for a student with parents who volunteer to become involved in volunteering. Carroll also talks about how students involved in religious organizations are much more likely to be volunteers. Only 5% of youth attribute volunteer hours to school requirement, but extra-curricular school programs are attributed to many hours. The majority of students who volunteer say that they joined because of schools, religion or youth leadership.
While reading this article I was surprised by how many students in the United States give their time to volunteer in their community. With a 10.5 million student volunteer force, we are seeing the volunteerism rates rise. This article was very pointed with its statistics to show that students who are involved in volunteering are so likely to be diverse in their support for many community operations. Carroll writes that students are beginning to volunteer in their schools and are taking the skills from these experiences to other community service opportunities. We also see from this article the strong social ties in youth volunteering. From this study we see that students are most likely to continue volunteering if they are working with people they are close to. For example, family members and school peer groups were the most regular volunteers.
Journal article
Peck, Stephen et al. “Exploring the Roles of Extracurricular Activity Quantity and Quality in the Educational Resilience of Vulnerable Adolescents: Variable and Pattern-Centered Approaches .” Journal of Social Issues 64.1 (2008): 135-155.
This article was a study trying to find out if there is a future educational benefit for students who do volunteer in high school verses those who don't. In this study they found that college rates for vulnerable youth increased dramatically when students were involved with volunteering and other school clubs and to a far lesser extent only school clubs or sports.
I liked that this journal article went into how volunteering will benefit at risk students in particular. Because it is these students who are going to need the most help succeeding. The worked with many 'at risk' students (Students with disabilities, low income, single parent or otherwise disadvantaged) and studied how their life outlook changed immediately after volunteering and then again several years later when they saw many of these students were in college or otherwise succeeding in life.
Scales, Peter C. et al. “Reducing Academic Achievement Gaps: The Role of Community Service and Service-Learning..” Journal of Experiential Education 29.1 (2006): 38-60.
This article talked about students' community service and service learning experiences, academic success and socio-economic status (SES). They came to the conclusions that those students who participated more in volunteering or service learning activities had higher attendance rates, higher grades and other positive academic outcomes. They also saw that especially students with low SES who participated in service learning and volunteering activities score better on most of the academic success variable tests than their low-SES peers who did not participate. They also concluded that the implemention of service learning in schools with a low SES population could be most beneficial. This is because of a generally raised achievement level overall and smaller schievement gaps between higher and lower SES students.
I agree with much of what this article reported from students with a low socio-economic status who participated in these activities. Being from a low-income family, volunteering is what kept me on track in school. The students in this study found a satisfaction in being helpful in the community, found themselves less bored than usual in their regular classes and became more aware of diversity and the many problems that far too many families experience in their own community. An awareness of social problems comes from volunteering and as a result of this, many students feel complelled to do something about it.
Research Question: How do extra curricular volunteer programs benefit a student's social and academic developments?
Contributed by: Jessica Lopes
ERIC Article
Newmann, Fred, and Robert Rutter. The Effects of High School Community Service Programs on Students' Social Development. Final Report. ERIC, 1983. 18 Nov 2008 <http://eric.ed.gov>
This article, written by Robert Rutter and Fred Newmann, reports on a study on students from eight difference high schools that participated in volunteer programs. Students who were involved in this study were interviewed before and after the study, filled out questionnaires throughout the process. This study was looking for a positive correlation between school volunteer programs and positive social development. Specifically, the study was looking for a link between volunteering and a positive change in the students’ sense of responsibility and concern for others, the student’s participation in adult groups and politics and the students’ competence in group projects. The findings of this study were that there was an increase of the students’ sense of social responsibility and personal competence. However, this study fails to show special benefits in future changes such as political efficacy, future affiliation and future political participation.
While reading this study I was pleasantly surprised by the findings of many of the pre interviews. Most of the students expected to come away from the experience with better people skills. They hoped that they would be better equipped in the future to deal with social situations and being able to work with adults. I was also happy to read that the authors reported on some particular experiences that would be with them always. The experiences were not dramatic or traumatic, but the social impressions of working with and helping children and adults helped many students feel more confident about their career decisions.
Times Article
Appleton, Samantha. “Teens Team Up to Give Back.” Time 15 Mar 2007. 24 Nov 2008 <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1599703,00.html>.
This article was published last year in Time magazine. Appleton writes about City Year, a non-profit youth volunteer organization. Over 1000 teens in 16 cities get up early on Saturday mornings for a full day of volunteering in City Year’s Young Heroes program. Many of these groups focus on working with current social projects. For example, there were projects in the Bronx that spread awareness about AIDS, held educational workshops and teens made and delivered care packages to AIDS patients. Young Heroes helps students get involved early in volunteering, which research says makes the students more likely to volunteer in the future.
After reading this article I better understood the reasons why other kids get into volunteering early in life, then continue volunteering throughout their life. In this particular instance the volunteer groups were educating the teens on the risks of AIDS and the facts about the disease, so that they could pass the knowledge to their peers. Also, the students were involved in helping bedridden AIDS patients by making care packages and talking to the patients and keeping them company. This article also focuses on the importance of beginning volunteerism in schools at a younger age. A City Year alumni stated that middle school, right before high school, is the most important time to start getting kids to want to volunteer. It is at this time when the activity will make the most difference, and be most likely to be a positive growing experience that the student would want to return to.
Opinion article
Carroll, Jamuna. “Teens Value Volunteerism.” Opposing Viewpoints: America's Youth. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008.
The corporation for national and community service surveyed over 3000 young Americans for this report. This report mainly consists of statistics that show how many students are volunteering and different statistics involving youth engagement. I learned that it is much more likely for a student with parents who volunteer to become involved in volunteering. Carroll also talks about how students involved in religious organizations are much more likely to be volunteers. Only 5% of youth attribute volunteer hours to school requirement, but extra-curricular school programs are attributed to many hours. The majority of students who volunteer say that they joined because of schools, religion or youth leadership.
While reading this article I was surprised by how many students in the United States give their time to volunteer in their community. With a 10.5 million student volunteer force, we are seeing the volunteerism rates rise. This article was very pointed with its statistics to show that students who are involved in volunteering are so likely to be diverse in their support for many community operations. Carroll writes that students are beginning to volunteer in their schools and are taking the skills from these experiences to other community service opportunities. We also see from this article the strong social ties in youth volunteering. From this study we see that students are most likely to continue volunteering if they are working with people they are close to. For example, family members and school peer groups were the most regular volunteers.
Journal article
Peck, Stephen et al. “Exploring the Roles of Extracurricular Activity Quantity and Quality in the Educational Resilience of Vulnerable Adolescents: Variable and Pattern-Centered Approaches .” Journal of Social Issues 64.1 (2008): 135-155.
This article was a study trying to find out if there is a future educational benefit for students who do volunteer in high school verses those who don't. In this study they found that college rates for vulnerable youth increased dramatically when students were involved with volunteering and other school clubs and to a far lesser extent only school clubs or sports.
I liked that this journal article went into how volunteering will benefit at risk students in particular. Because it is these students who are going to need the most help succeeding. The worked with many 'at risk' students (Students with disabilities, low income, single parent or otherwise disadvantaged) and studied how their life outlook changed immediately after volunteering and then again several years later when they saw many of these students were in college or otherwise succeeding in life.
Scales, Peter C. et al. “Reducing Academic Achievement Gaps: The Role of Community Service and Service-Learning..” Journal of Experiential Education 29.1 (2006): 38-60.
This article talked about students' community service and service learning experiences, academic success and socio-economic status (SES). They came to the conclusions that those students who participated more in volunteering or service learning activities had higher attendance rates, higher grades and other positive academic outcomes. They also saw that especially students with low SES who participated in service learning and volunteering activities score better on most of the academic success variable tests than their low-SES peers who did not participate. They also concluded that the implemention of service learning in schools with a low SES population could be most beneficial. This is because of a generally raised achievement level overall and smaller schievement gaps between higher and lower SES students.
I agree with much of what this article reported from students with a low socio-economic status who participated in these activities. Being from a low-income family, volunteering is what kept me on track in school. The students in this study found a satisfaction in being helpful in the community, found themselves less bored than usual in their regular classes and became more aware of diversity and the many problems that far too many families experience in their own community. An awareness of social problems comes from volunteering and as a result of this, many students feel complelled to do something about it.